Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile: Charities set to win big

November is a mega horseracing month in Johannesburg annually and the first of three major events over the next three weeks takes place at Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday afternoon with the running of the R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile.

The International Jockeys’ Challenge, which pits six South African jockeys against top riders from across the planet, follows two weeks later with the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup providing a glorious finale to the month on 25 November.

Horseracing fans are looking forward to a feast of high-quality action and chances to win big this afternoon. Seven of the 12 races are feature events and the Pick 6 pool on the meeting should top R3 million as a result of a carryover.

The Charity Mile is always the most emotional horserace of the year because each of the runners races on behalf of a charity with the finishing positions determining how much money each charity takes home. The winning charity collects R150,000 and no charity goes home empty-handed. Each horse is publicly represented by a celebrity and famous faces getting together with famous horses for the benefit of charity is always a glorious occasion.

New Predator is out to win the race for the second year running and he dominating the betting at 28-10 ahead of Classify and Forest Fox.

The five-year-old has then form to win. He carries only 2.5kg more than last year and ran well recently in his comeback from a rest.

But it’s an ultra-competitive contest in which only a handful of runners look without hope and New Predator hardly represents outstanding value at his current odds.

Punters might be better advised to consider an eachway bet on runners like in-form Bella Sonata (12-1) or champion trainer Sean Tarry’s stablemates French Navy and Tahini, who are both at 16-1.

* See top jockey Piere Strydom’s views on the race in Form Focus.